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To: Texit

Not necessarily, the denarius was the smallest coin available at the time. It contained 3.41 grams of silver, at today’s prices that would be $2.18.

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Inflation is correct. The denarius did not retain the same weight of silver throughout the years of Roman rule:

https://dollarvigilante.com/blog/2012/02/28/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-roman-denarius.html

Relevant excerpt:

The denarius began as a 4.5 gram silver coin and had stayed that way for centuries under the Roman Republic. After Rome became an empire, things began to turn sour for the denarius and, by extension, the Roman economy. Base metals, such as copper were blended in with the silver and so even though the coin itself weighed the same, the amount of silver in it became less and less with each successive emperor. Throughout the first century the denarius contained over 90% silver but by the end of the second century the silver content had fallen to less than 70%. A century later there was less than 5% silver in the coin and by 350 AD it was all but worthless, having an exchange rate of 4,600,000 to a gold solidus (or nearly 9 million to the original aureus).


13 posted on 09/08/2016 9:49:42 AM PDT by angryoldfatman
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To: angryoldfatman

Two points: the denarius wasn’t debased at the time Revelation was written.

Secondly, if you subscribe to the theory that this represents hyper-inflation because the denarius became virtually worthless centuries later then what you are saying is the verse is implying that a measure of wheat becomes worthless because the denarius is worthless. The wheat cost ONE denarius not wheelbarrows full as was the case in the Weimar Republic. If that is the correct interpretation, then the verse is saying that in the end times food is extremely cheap. I don’t think anyone believes that is the message of this verse.


14 posted on 09/08/2016 6:42:05 PM PDT by Texit
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